Buried in the Backyard (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - Guilt or Innocence - full transcript
When the body parts of two missing teens are found in a backyard cornfield, detectives uncover dark family secrets to track their suspect.
- [Narrator] In September
1983, a contractor
makes a gruesome discovery
in a Milwaukee backyard.
(ominous music)
- It was determined to be a
full human body.
- It was complete shock.
Disgust, terror.
People were just scared.
- [Narrator] The ghastly
remains send investigators
chasing a shocking truth.
(intense music)
- We learned about this
party that had happened.
- There was rumors,
lots of rumors.
- I was suspicious of him
because he was trying to
get smart with my daughter.
- [Narrator] And have a
community running scared.
(intense music)
- The man on the other
end of the line said
I want to confess to a murder.
- You may think you know your
neighbors, but you never know
what's going on
in their backyard.
(intense music)
(eerie music)
- [Narrator] It's after
dark on a Tuesday night.
Summer is fading fast,
and a touch of fall
hangs in the Milwaukee air.
In this typically quiet
South Side neighborhood,
the sound of a siren
beckons Carol Tousignant
to her living room window.
- We were looking
out the window,
and a whole bunch of
cops, squads by the house.
- [Narrator] Curious
about the commotion,
Carol walks across the street.
- All the news
reporters are there.
There was a lot of people there
to see what's going on.
It was scary.
- We heard reports that there
was a death investigation.
The newsroom reacted immediately
sending a crew out there,
not knowing what
it would turn into.
They started talking
to neighbors,
trying to talk to
police who at that point
aren't ready to release
any information,
but the reporters
are asking people
what they think is going on.
There were rumors right away
that someone's remains were
found buried in the backyard.
- In the front yard,
they had a bag.
- And then there were
rumors pretty much
immediately after that
that it was a young female.
- I thought oh my god.
I was down to my knees.
I knew right away
that was my daughter.
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] At the
local middle school,
students are happily
shuffling to the cafeteria.
13 year old Carrie
Jopek meets up with
one of her friends,
Margie, in the hall.
- We went shopping
the night before,
and we bought the same outfit.
Same pants, same shirt,
and couldn't wait
to wear 'em the
next day to school,
and the next morning
we went to school,
she was crying and she
said she got suspended
because she punched
one of the boys
that threw paint on her shirt
and she was so upset.
If somebody messed with her,
she would stand up for herself.
- [Narrator] The school
doesn't take kindly
to Carrie's behavior.
And she finds
herself in hot water.
- The school called saying that
Carrie was suspended
for three days.
I said okay why don't
you send her home?
She's 131/2 years old.
She doesn't need
her ma to take her
by the hand and take her home.
- [Narrator] The school
is a short block away.
Carrie should be home
in no time at all.
- [Carol] One o'clock, two
o'clock, three o'clock.
She still didn't come home,
so we went looking out
the window for her.
And no Carrie.
- [Narrator] As the hours
pass, Carol's imagination
starts to go wild.
Where on earth could Carrie be?
- I was wondering why
she didn't come home,
and I was getting worried
so I called the police.
- Carol told us that she
had not heard from her
since she was suspended
and was concerned.
- [Carol] And they asked
me what she was wearing,
how old she was.
- Carrie was 13 years of age,
about five foot
three, 96 pounds.
She was wearing a
white cloth jacket,
a white top, brown corduroy
jeans and white shoes
and she was holding a clutch
purse when she went missing.
(crickets chirping)
- [Narrator] Carrie
is headstrong,
but always lets her mom know
where she is, and when
she's coming home.
- I knew she wouldn't run away.
I knew that.
She could be mad at me,
but she always came home.
I could hardly sleep
'cause I kept on
looking outside.
Where is she, where is she?
I was going stir crazy!
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] The
following day, when Carrie
still hasn't come home, her
mom is growing desperate
for investigators
to do something.
- Once we started
interviewing her friends
we learned about this
gathering or party
that had happened at
the Mandt residence.
The Mandt family is
a family that lived
across the street
from the Jopek family.
Robin Mandt and Carrie
Jopek were friends.
Carrie was there the day
of her disappearance.
- [Narrator] Where did Carrie
disappear to after the party?
- The officers interviewed
her close friends
regarding her whereabouts,
and none of her friends
had any information.
- There were so many
different things
going through my head,
and I had no idea.
I was just always thinking
that she was safe
and she'd come home.
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] Carol is going
out of her mind with worry.
Has her daughter been abducted
from the safety of
their neighborhood?
- So her sister Maggie
and I end up making flyers
and going door to door.
You stop people down the street,
have you seen this girl,
have you seen this girl?
No.
- Carol got us all together
and we would search
the neighborhood,
and there was probably 30 people
with us walking everywhere
asking people have
they seen her?
- [Narrator] Hearts are heavy
all through this neighborhood.
And no one feels
the emotional toll
more than Carrie's
sister, Maggie.
- Maggie and I searched
every day after school
until Maggie couldn't
take it no more.
Maggie said Mom I can't do this.
It's 10 o'clock at night and
we're still looking for her.
- The historic Mitchell
Street neighborhood
is a densely residential area,
but with some really
busy commercial strips.
At the time that
Carrie disappeared,
it was considered a safe area.
A lot of people
didn't think it was
a very serious
situation at first.
They thought that she may
have just ran away from home.
They didn't really suspect
foul play at the time.
- [Narrator] Carol is
on a mother's mission.
- I went to Milwaukee Journal.
I said can you put
Carrie's picture in there
saying that she's been missing?
(somber music)
- [Narrator]
Desperate for answers,
she calls on Heaven
itself for help.
- I prayed to God to find her.
And I'm glad I had
my faith in Jesus,
'cause if I didn't I think I
would've been in the nuthouse.
- We couldn't give
her an answer.
As a parent myself,
I couldn't imagine
what Carol was going through.
- [Narrator] The lack of
answers is unbearable.
Then suddenly, there
are sightings of Carrie.
- Rumors started saying that
they saw her in California
and they saw her in
other neighborhoods
and that made us have
hope and just thought
she was too afraid to
go home and was scared
because she got suspended.
- There were calls
like I think I
might've seen her in a car.
I think I might've seen
her on this corner.
She could have easily
met up with an older man
who could have took
her to another state
or to another area of town.
The police were dispatched.
Carrie was just never found.
- [Narrator] Then weeks
into the investigation,
like a bolt from the blue,
Carol is sure she
sees her daughter
wandering down the street.
(intense music)
- I see Carrie, and
I was kinda shocked.
Happy, and I yelled her name.
- Carrie!
- And all the sudden she ran.
(intense music)
- I've heard about people
coming back to the
scene of the crime.
He began to freak out,
he ran inside the house
and started to throw up.
- It's just out of a nightmare.
- Right away I thought
this was gonna be it.
We're gonna find out now.
(eerie music)
several agonizing
weeks searching for her
13 year old missing
daughter, Carrie
when she suddenly
thinks she sees Carrie
in her South Milwaukee
neighborhood.
Her broken heart skips a beat.
(intense music)
- Carrie!
- She ran away from me,
and why would she run away
unless she was afraid.
Then I was crying
when I went home,
'cause I told everybody
I think I saw Carrie
and she ran away from me.
(emotional music)
- [Narrator] Were Carol's
eyes deceiving her?
- The police did follow
up on several sightings
of Carrie in the neighborhood,
and a chunk of all those
sightings turned out
to either be not
Carrie or somebody else
that looked just like Carrie.
- In the beginning, when
Carrie went missing,
the hopes were very
high finding her,
but leads, they dry up.
It's frustrating.
(emotional music)
- [Narrator] Seasons
change, and a year passes.
Without any leads, investigators
have nothing to go on,
and Carrie's case
gets tucked in a shelf
with dozens of others.
- So the case now has gone cold,
and you'd like to give the
family positive information
and new leads.
However, we didn't
have anything.
- [Narrator] The
world keeps turning,
but Carol is
paralyzed with fear.
- I had a feeling
that she was dead,
but I didn't want
to think of it.
- I missed Carrie a lot, and
just never having her around,
there was a void.
I really missed her.
- Just awful not knowing.
It was just loneliness
without her.
That's my firstborn.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] For this lost
mom, time has stopped.
18 months pass
with no new leads,
and just when the case
is close to going cold,
a call comes in that
changes everything.
- On September 2nd,
1983, we got a call
from the Mandt house.
A contractor who had
removed a back porch.
When he started to dig,
the shovel hit something
hard like a rock,
but he noticed human
hair on the shovel.
(intense music)
There was a body
underneath the porch.
(ominous music)
(sirens wail)
- [Narrator] The
commotion later that night
calls Carol Tousignant
across the street
to the home of the Mandt family.
- I said oh my god.
I asked Carrie's
friend, Robin Mandt.
What was she wearing?
Robin said she was
wearing a winter coat.
When Carrie went missing,
that's what she was wearing,
and I said that's Carrie.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] Could it really be?
Carol frantically
tries to get closer.
- And then the officer
says, what are you doing?
And then Robin says well,
her daughter's been
missing for 171/2 months.
She thinks that's her daughter.
(somber music)
The officer said why
don't you go home
and we will
talk to you later?
- [Narrator] Her stomach in
knots and her heart in pieces,
Carol stumbles home.
- I prayed to God, I
wanted Carrie to be alive.
I really want her to be alive.
(somber music)
- The body was recovered
in a shallow grave.
The grave was about
five inches deep.
It was partially decomposed.
It was in a mummification state.
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] The
body is transported
to the coroner's office.
(somber music)
As word spreads quickly
about the gruesome discovery.
- This is a tight knit
little neighborhood.
Homes right alongside each
other, so the fact that
someone's body was found
buried in the backyard
just is shocking and
unbelievable to them.
The reporters are asking people
what they think is going on,
and that's when they
started learning
about this kind of
immediate speculation
that it was Carrie's
body that was found.
- There was an ice cream
place down by our house,
and there was a paper
sitting on the counter,
and my mom was
reading the story.
When she read the outfit
that the person was found in,
I said Mom, that's Carrie.
(emotional music)
Yeah I mean, 'cause we
have that same outfit.
(emotional music)
- [Narrator] After
four excruciating days,
Carol receives word
from detectives
that no parent should
ever have to hear.
Carrie's body has been
identified by dental records.
(eerie music)
- They took me to the morgue.
Everything was there.
Her shoes,
her pants.
And I picked up her jacket,
and there was Carrie's jacket,
and that really stunk.
It was sad to see
her stuff there.
You know for sure
that was your daughter
that was dead, you know?
It was just like,
a relief that we found her
and we don't have to worry
about looking for her anymore,
and that she's resting,
she's in God's hands.
It was just
heartbreaking.
- [Narrator] Carol can't fathom
who would kill her little girl.
(ominous music)
- An autopsy was
conducted on Carrie.
The C1 vertebrae was
partially fractured.
They considered that injury
almost like a whiplash injury.
There was also a fracture to
the left side of her skull,
and they determined that to
be either accidental by fall,
or it could be done
purposefully or a homicide.
- [Narrator] One
thing is certain.
Somebody buried Carrie's
body in that backyard.
- One of the things
that was disturbing
was just this pretty
young girl was killed
and simply disposed,
buried in this backyard,
but who did it?
- I cried and
I couldn't believe it,
and the shocking part
was it was the home
across the street from
her house the whole time.
(eerie music)
- The medical examiner did
not rule this case a homicide.
They ruled it as undetermined.
What we thought right
away when she was found
was because of the
nature of the wounds,
and also somebody
buried that body,
whether it was an
accidental fall
or if it was some type of
homicide investigation.
- [Narrator] The
crime is unsettling,
and detectives want
justice for Carrie Jopek
and her family.
They begin their investigation
at the very place
Carrie was last seen,
and where her body was buried.
The home of the Mandt family.
- We knew the
Mandts pretty well.
Carrie and Robin
were good friends.
- There was also an older
brother named John Mandt.
He was a few years older
than both Carrie and Robin.
Through the
investigation we learned
that John Mandt was kind of
like the neighborhood
troublemaker.
There was always something
negative going on
with him, and just also
got into some petty thefts
and was always in
trouble with the law.
- [Narrator] The day
Carrie disappeared,
she was seen at a party
at Robin and John's house.
- The party consisted
of high school kids
and kids that were just
out of high school.
- Almost like an
invite for teenagers
that wanted to skip school
to come to John Mandt's house.
- There was talk of drinking.
Also talk of
marijuana being used.
(ominous music)
Because John Mandt was
the person pointed out
in the neighborhood
as the troublemaker,
now that the body was
found at the Mandt house,
everybody in the neighborhood
believed that John
Mandt was involved.
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] There's
another provocative detail
that makes John Mandt
look suspicious.
- When the contractor
discovered the remains,
he was very shocked.
He looked over his
shoulder and saw John Mandt
standing behind him, and that
even made him more shocked.
John's reaction
right at that moment
was he began to freak out.
He ran inside the house,
and started to throw up.
- [Narrator] Is John sick
with sadness and shock,
or is it something
else far more sinister?
- There's a lot of suspicions.
There were several
different factors
that made John a suspect.
(intense music)
(eerie music)
- [Narrator] After
missing for 18 months,
Carrie Jopek has been
found savagely buried
in the backyard across the
street from her own home.
Now, investigators are eyeing
her teenage
neighbor, John Mandt.
(intense music)
- He was very shooken up.
He started throwing
up all over the house.
In fact he was so ill that
when the police had come,
he wasn't even
interviewed that day
regarding the body
in the backyard.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] Just days
into their investigation,
detectives dig into
their newest lead
and uncover some potentially
damning information.
- We have learned
through the investigation
that John Mandt had come
on to Carrie in the past,
and made some remarks to
Carrie that he liked her.
- One time Carrie
was at Robin's house,
and she said that Johnny was
trying to fool around with her,
going up and down her legs.
I was just afraid that he
would hurt her, you know?
- When you're talking
about a 13 year old girl
and an 18 year old
or 19 year old man,
there's a lot of suspicions.
- I was suspicious of him,
because he was trying to
get smart with my daughter.
(eerie music)
- Just a few days after
the body was found,
we brought John
down to the station
and we interviewed John
regarding the death of Carrie.
John's demeanor was pretty calm.
He stated that he knew of
Carrie from the neighborhood,
and that Carrie was
friends with his sister,
and that he had nothing to do
with her disappearance or death.
Regarding the party at
the Mandt residence,
he denied knowing that
there was a party.
So there were several
different factors
that made John a suspect.
- [Narrator] If John's
conscience is clean,
why did he get sick after
Carrie's body was discovered?
- John stated that finding
a body in his backyard
is what made him
physically ill and shocked.
When John was asked how the
body was buried in his backyard,
John stated he had no clue.
Once John was pushed
a little bit harder,
he requested a
lawyer and we had to
stop the interview at that time.
That was the end.
Deep down, we had suspicion
that John was involved,
but we really had no
evidence of anything else
that we could prove
that John was involved.
- He claimed to
not know anything,
and he walked free.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] A few days
later, Carol is finally able
to lay her precious
girl to rest.
- The funeral was
mixed emotions.
Sad, and happy
that she was found
and she's in a
final resting place,
and she's in God's hands.
- Carrie was just a
wonderful, caring person.
Always looking out for
everybody else, and...
Sorry.
- [Narrator] Carrie was
born with a feisty spirit.
- Yeah she was a spitfire.
She was.
Since she was a little girl,
she wanted to do
things on her own.
She was very independent.
- [Narrator] She was as sweet
as she was strong willed.
- Carrie was so much fun.
Very outgoing,
bubbly, and smart.
She loved to sing.
She'd be so happy.
She was also very caring.
- She loved animals.
She wanted to be a veterinarian,
and we had a lotta
dogs, lotta cats.
She could have done
anything she wanted to.
- [Narrator] Carol can still
hear Carrie's sweet voice.
- [Carol] She always
said goodnight Mom,
see you tomorrow, I love you.
(emotional music)
At her funeral she had a
lot of friends showing up.
Robin was there,
Margaret was there.
- And we were hanging
all over each other
and just sobbing
all over each other.
- God took her for a reason.
But why, why did
she have to die?
No sense to it.
- [Narrator] In
the emotional haze,
Carol is grateful to
friends like Jose Ferreira
who come offering comfort.
- Jose Ferreira was a kid who
lived just down the street
from the Mandt residence, as
well as Carrie Jopek's house.
- He used to come to
our house to play cards.
He was like a
fixture in our house.
- [Narrator] One night
as Carol and Jose
reminisce about Carrie, Jose
makes a strange confession.
- He told me
Carrie's haunting me.
I was going why
would he say that?
- [Narrator] Is it possible
Jose knows something
about Carrie's death?
- One morning we received
a call from a neighbor,
and this neighbor stated
that he recognized
a boy from the
neighborhood kneeling
where Carrie's remains
were recovered,
and he was acting
very strangely.
Had his hands raised to the sky,
and appeared to be crying.
This boy was Jose Ferreira.
(intense music)
- I've heard about
people coming back to
the scene of the crime,
especially if they're feeling
remorse or guilt over it,
it's a way for them to
connect to the victim.
- Right away I thought
this is gonna be it.
We're gonna find out now.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] Weeks after
the horrifying discovery
of Carrie Jopek's body
found buried in a
neighbor's backyard,
investigators get a troubling
call about Jose Ferreira,
a friend of Carrie's family.
(intense music)
- A neighbor witnessed
Jose crying at the scene
just feet from the grave site.
- Why would he be doing that?
Was he the one or was he
involved with the one?
- There were rumors
and speculation that
someone knew something, whether
it was Jose, whether it was,
he knew of someone else
who knew something.
There was clearly
more to the story.
- Jose was kind of like the
weird guy in the neighborhood.
He's into witchcraft,
he liked to drink a lot.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] Is there
something far more sinister
hiding beneath Jose's exterior?
- Jose Ferreira
did have a record
with the Milwaukee
Police Department.
He had three municipal
warrants for theft.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] Could
Jose be the key
to Carrie's mysterious death?
Detectives waste little
time bringing him in.
- When Jose was brought
in for questioning,
he seemed perfectly
normal and calm.
- He said he actually
went over to the backyard
and he was thinking about Carrie
and he said it bothered him
so much, he began crying.
- He stated that he was
in a depressed mood.
He just broke up
with his girlfriend,
and he did raise
his hands to the sky
and he said why her?
- [Narrator] Jose as it
turns out, may have been
one of the last people
to see Carrie alive.
- We learned that Jose
was at the Mandt residence
with Johnny and some friends
the day that Carrie
went missing.
However, he denied
any involvement in
Carrie Jopek's death.
- [Narrator] Like John
Mandt, Jose insists
he has no idea where Carrie
disappeared to after the party.
And while he's no angel,
there's nothing to
prove he's a killer.
- [Angela] Based on
what he had given us,
there was no
evidence to hold him
regarding this investigation,
so he was let go by the
Milwaukee Police Department.
- Police didn't have
a lot to work off of.
No one was talking, and frankly
it was just a big mystery.
For pretty much every
high profile story,
newsrooms do get a
lot of phone calls.
We did get some calls, but
none of them really panned out.
And a lot of people in the
neighborhood unfortunately
were coming to
terms with the fact
that they might not
ever know what happened.
- Frankly, Carrie Jopek's
death was with us all the time,
that we weren't able to solve,
and it's very
frustrating for us,
but we're always constantly
thinking about other avenues.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] What's
frustrating for investigators
is devastating for those
who loved Carrie most.
The lack of leads or justice
for Carrie is heartbreaking.
- I'm there but she wasn't,
and part of me was gone.
She was my life.
And I lost her.
- I always regretted
not leaving with her
when she got suspended,
because we would have never
went to Robin's house.
I just didn't really think
I needed to at the time.
And that's what kills me.
(emotional music)
Nobody would've known
the future, what
would have happened,
or there's no way, so I
keep trying to tell myself
it's not my fault,
it's not my fault,
but it's the
biggest regret ever.
Was not leaving with her.
(emotional music)
- I didn't go get her,
I didn't pick her up.
But I figured that would
be kinda embarrassing
for me to go over there
and take her by the hand,
and drag her home.
Look what you did now!
You're in trouble.
Carrie really would've
been embarrassed
if I would've done that to her.
(emotional music)
- [Narrator] Carrie's
family and friends
are never free of their guilt.
As time marches on,
they long for answers.
- I was just so tired and upset.
Came home and started crying.
Who did it?
Why?
Why did they do it?
- When you don't know something,
when it's unsolved
for so long that's,
that kind of eats at you.
To not know what happened to
one of my best friends is,
that was hard all my life.
- Carrie's case
became a cold case.
As a detective, I
think it hits home
because we have
children of our own,
and we know that they
can be innocent victims.
It's hard 'cause we just
didn't have anything.
- [Narrator] Six years
later, the silence
surrounding Carrie's case
is suddenly shattered
when a new investigator
gets a most unexpected call.
- We got a big
break in the case.
Dodge Correctional Institute
called the Milwaukee
Police Department
stating that they had an inmate
that wanted to
talk to the police,
and had information regarding
Carrie Jopek's death.
(intense music)
- Any time a cold
case breaks open,
there's a sense of urgency,
especially for a
high profile case
that so many people care about,
and when there's suddenly
this unexpected announcement
it was a really big deal.
There was much
more to the story,
and the truth would come out
and there'd be
justice and closure.
(intense music)
(eerie music)
- [Narrator] Six years after
someone so grossly disposed
of 13 year old Carrie Jopek
in a neighbor's backyard,
a prison inmate comes forward
with an explosive allegation
about her mysterious death.
- So we got this call from
the Dodge Correction Institute
that Thomas Luker was an inmate,
and he wanted to talk to the
Milwaukee Police Department.
He stated he was the
ex-boyfriend of Robin Mandt,
which was John Mandt's sister,
and they had been dating
from 1983 to 1986.
And during this time,
Robin had told him
that John Mandt
had killed Carrie.
Mr. Luker stated
that she was left
in the basement for
two to three days.
And eventually her
body was buried.
(somber music)
Shortly after the
interview with Mr. Luker,
Robin was then interviewed
and she stated that
she did date Mr. Luker,
and that they did
have a conversation
about Carrie Jopek's death.
However, it was regarding
Carrie's body being found.
She never told him
about any information
that he stated to us.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] So why
would Thomas Luker
concoct such a damning story?
- She stated that he
twisted her words,
and that he was basically
trying to get back at her
for breaking up with him.
And that she did
not have any idea
how Carrie was killed,
and did not believe
that her brother had anything
to do with Carrie's death.
- [Narrator] Luker's
story, though compelling,
is not enough to
arrest John Mandt.
- After Robin stated
her side of the story,
there was no information
that we found
to be credible with
Luker's theory.
We had no evidence
to back that up.
Once again, the case went cold.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] It's another
dead end for investigators,
and more heartbreak for
Carrie's family and friends.
- I'm thinking why does
nobody know nothing?
How is this so hidden?
What are these people doing?
Are they looking, are
they searching still?
- She can't rest in peace
until we know who did it to her.
- To lose a child like that,
it had to be hard for Carol.
I can't even speak for
her, but me as a mom
I would just dig
and dig and dig,
like I would never let it go.
- It's difficult, but you still
continue to work on the case
and you want to be able to
come and tell that family
that you solved the case.
- So you had people who
kind of just accepted
that this was gonna
be a cold case,
but then there were those
that held onto hope.
Carrie's family and friends
felt that someday, somehow,
the truth would come out.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] The next 25 years
pass like a horrible dream
for Carrie's loved ones.
Then, early one Sunday morning,
local television producer
Will Myers gets a call
that blows the case wide open.
- I was filling in on
the overnight shift
when the phone rang.
The man on the other
end of the line said,
I want to confess to a murder.
(intense music)
And that caught my
attention right away.
We're used to getting a lot
of calls from the public.
Many people have
mental health issues
or just are looking
for attention,
but right away I knew
something more serious
was going on here.
He started by offering
a little bit of details
about his personal life,
and some time he spent in jail,
but eventually he finally
started talking about
what happened, and I began
to take him seriously.
He said in 1982, he
was with Carrie Jopek
and he buried her under
the porch in the backyard.
(intense music)
He told me that
since it happened,
Carrie has been haunting him.
It's been on his conscience
ever since he was a teenager.
(intense music)
As soon as I hung up the phone,
I called the manager
who was in charge
to explain what
had just happened,
and he told me to write a
summary of what was going on,
send it to him, and he
would call the police.
We later learned
that at the same time
that we were calling the police
to report this phone call,
they were also
hearing from his wife,
and from a crisis hotline
who he had apparently also
called around the same time.
- During that time,
we were advised of
a person from Channel 12 staff
had received a call
from a person regarding
what had happened to
Carrie Jopek in 1982,
and we learned that he knew
Carrie from the neighborhood.
(intense music)
That person was Jose Ferreira.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] 25 years
later, Jose Ferreira insists
he's the man behind the
murder of Carrie Jopek.
(intense music)
- We asked him if he would
voluntarily come down
to the police
administration building
so we can conduct an
interview with him.
- [Narrator] To their
shock, Jose agrees.
But will he confess
to authorities
what he's already
confessed to others?
(ominous music)
- Jose's demeanor was
very polite, cooperative,
but it was very obvious
that this incident
was bothering him.
What he described was he went
over to his friend's house,
and there were a bunch of kids
that had skipped out
of school that day,
and they were drinking
alcohol and smoking marijuana.
Said he walked into the kitchen,
and noticed Carrie
was next to a doorway
that led down into the basement.
(ominous music)
- He told me that he
didn't have a cigarette,
but he offered Carrie some
marijuana, which she accepted.
- He knew that the kids
all used the basement
as their make out
spot, and Jose believed
that's what he and
Carrie were gonna do.
(intense music)
- He said as he did
this, Carrie told him,
maybe this wasn't a good idea.
- [Narrator] The horror that
plays out next is unfathomable.
- I was very shocked
just to know,
know what happened.
(intense music)
(eerie music)killing
of Carrie Jopek, family
friend Jose Ferreira
has stunned everyone
by confessing to her
atrocious murder.
(intense music)
- He said as he did
this, Carrie told him
maybe this wasn't a good idea.
(suspenseful music)
- And as he said this, he
pushed her down the stairs.
(intense music)
(somber music)
(ominous music)
He felt that she'd
been knocked out
when her head hit the floor.
- [Narrator] Jose
eventually realizes
Carrie isn't knocked out.
She's dead.
(intense music)
- He said her head turned all
the way around, the wrong way.
And he said at this point,
he knew her neck was broken,
she was dead, and
this was very serious.
- [James] He
described panicking,
and the idea came into his mind
that he would bury
her in the backyard.
(intense music)
- [James] Then what?
- [Narrator] It took 33
years, but Jose Ferreira
is finally charged with
second degree murder.
- Jose seemed very remorseful.
After the interview was
done, he actually hugged me
because he felt so good to
finally get this off his chest.
It had been bothering
him for so long.
- [Narrator] After all
these years, investigators
can't fathom how Jose pulled off
this atrocious crime on his own.
- We initially thought
that both John Mandt
and Jose were involved in this,
but there was nothing
that we could prove
that John Mandt was involved.
All right, come on.
- I don't think a
parent that has a child
that dies as a result of a
homicide ever have closure,
until they know exactly what
happened to their child.
I felt good that we were
going to, after 33 years,
give this family some closure.
- I was shocked, 'cause he was
our friend all these years,
and all the sudden
out of the blue
I killed Carrie, I did it.
And then burying her.
I mean, like you'd
do to an animal!
You kill an animal
and then you bury it.
She was no animal.
She's a human being.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] After
so many painful years
waiting for justice, Jose
Ferreira's trial date
is set for January 2017.
- The day that Jose Ferreira's
trial was set to begin,
he ultimately took a plea.
Jose Ferreira was sentenced
to seven years in prison.
Some may feel that seven
years was not enough
for what happened with Carrie.
However, we lacked evidence,
and taking it to
trial was a chance
that he could be
found acquitted,
and we would ultimately end up
with no prison time
for Jose Ferreira.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] Carrie's mom finds
solace in Jose's sentence,
and remarkably
some common ground
with her daughter's killer.
- I felt sorry for him in a way.
I was hurting and so was he.
I can't hate him.
We were happy to see
he took a plea deal.
Sure it was only seven years,
but it's better than nothing.
- A lot of families that
lived in that neighborhood
when Carrie went missing and
then was later found dead
still live in that neighborhood.
It was horrific, it
impacted a lot of people,
and that's just
never gonna go away.
- [Narrator] Just like the
sweet memories of Carrie Jopek,
and the hurt of knowing
all that was lost.
- I think Carrie
would be an artist.
That she'd be singing with me,
and she would have been a
wonderful, caring person
'cause that's what she was.
- She was a good
kid, smart, talented.
She could have had a
lot of opportunities,
and she did want to
be a veterinarian.
She loved animals.
And now she can't even be
one of them to help them out.
(somber music)
But at least she can rest.
- [Narrator] For
more information
1983, a contractor
makes a gruesome discovery
in a Milwaukee backyard.
(ominous music)
- It was determined to be a
full human body.
- It was complete shock.
Disgust, terror.
People were just scared.
- [Narrator] The ghastly
remains send investigators
chasing a shocking truth.
(intense music)
- We learned about this
party that had happened.
- There was rumors,
lots of rumors.
- I was suspicious of him
because he was trying to
get smart with my daughter.
- [Narrator] And have a
community running scared.
(intense music)
- The man on the other
end of the line said
I want to confess to a murder.
- You may think you know your
neighbors, but you never know
what's going on
in their backyard.
(intense music)
(eerie music)
- [Narrator] It's after
dark on a Tuesday night.
Summer is fading fast,
and a touch of fall
hangs in the Milwaukee air.
In this typically quiet
South Side neighborhood,
the sound of a siren
beckons Carol Tousignant
to her living room window.
- We were looking
out the window,
and a whole bunch of
cops, squads by the house.
- [Narrator] Curious
about the commotion,
Carol walks across the street.
- All the news
reporters are there.
There was a lot of people there
to see what's going on.
It was scary.
- We heard reports that there
was a death investigation.
The newsroom reacted immediately
sending a crew out there,
not knowing what
it would turn into.
They started talking
to neighbors,
trying to talk to
police who at that point
aren't ready to release
any information,
but the reporters
are asking people
what they think is going on.
There were rumors right away
that someone's remains were
found buried in the backyard.
- In the front yard,
they had a bag.
- And then there were
rumors pretty much
immediately after that
that it was a young female.
- I thought oh my god.
I was down to my knees.
I knew right away
that was my daughter.
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] At the
local middle school,
students are happily
shuffling to the cafeteria.
13 year old Carrie
Jopek meets up with
one of her friends,
Margie, in the hall.
- We went shopping
the night before,
and we bought the same outfit.
Same pants, same shirt,
and couldn't wait
to wear 'em the
next day to school,
and the next morning
we went to school,
she was crying and she
said she got suspended
because she punched
one of the boys
that threw paint on her shirt
and she was so upset.
If somebody messed with her,
she would stand up for herself.
- [Narrator] The school
doesn't take kindly
to Carrie's behavior.
And she finds
herself in hot water.
- The school called saying that
Carrie was suspended
for three days.
I said okay why don't
you send her home?
She's 131/2 years old.
She doesn't need
her ma to take her
by the hand and take her home.
- [Narrator] The school
is a short block away.
Carrie should be home
in no time at all.
- [Carol] One o'clock, two
o'clock, three o'clock.
She still didn't come home,
so we went looking out
the window for her.
And no Carrie.
- [Narrator] As the hours
pass, Carol's imagination
starts to go wild.
Where on earth could Carrie be?
- I was wondering why
she didn't come home,
and I was getting worried
so I called the police.
- Carol told us that she
had not heard from her
since she was suspended
and was concerned.
- [Carol] And they asked
me what she was wearing,
how old she was.
- Carrie was 13 years of age,
about five foot
three, 96 pounds.
She was wearing a
white cloth jacket,
a white top, brown corduroy
jeans and white shoes
and she was holding a clutch
purse when she went missing.
(crickets chirping)
- [Narrator] Carrie
is headstrong,
but always lets her mom know
where she is, and when
she's coming home.
- I knew she wouldn't run away.
I knew that.
She could be mad at me,
but she always came home.
I could hardly sleep
'cause I kept on
looking outside.
Where is she, where is she?
I was going stir crazy!
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] The
following day, when Carrie
still hasn't come home, her
mom is growing desperate
for investigators
to do something.
- Once we started
interviewing her friends
we learned about this
gathering or party
that had happened at
the Mandt residence.
The Mandt family is
a family that lived
across the street
from the Jopek family.
Robin Mandt and Carrie
Jopek were friends.
Carrie was there the day
of her disappearance.
- [Narrator] Where did Carrie
disappear to after the party?
- The officers interviewed
her close friends
regarding her whereabouts,
and none of her friends
had any information.
- There were so many
different things
going through my head,
and I had no idea.
I was just always thinking
that she was safe
and she'd come home.
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] Carol is going
out of her mind with worry.
Has her daughter been abducted
from the safety of
their neighborhood?
- So her sister Maggie
and I end up making flyers
and going door to door.
You stop people down the street,
have you seen this girl,
have you seen this girl?
No.
- Carol got us all together
and we would search
the neighborhood,
and there was probably 30 people
with us walking everywhere
asking people have
they seen her?
- [Narrator] Hearts are heavy
all through this neighborhood.
And no one feels
the emotional toll
more than Carrie's
sister, Maggie.
- Maggie and I searched
every day after school
until Maggie couldn't
take it no more.
Maggie said Mom I can't do this.
It's 10 o'clock at night and
we're still looking for her.
- The historic Mitchell
Street neighborhood
is a densely residential area,
but with some really
busy commercial strips.
At the time that
Carrie disappeared,
it was considered a safe area.
A lot of people
didn't think it was
a very serious
situation at first.
They thought that she may
have just ran away from home.
They didn't really suspect
foul play at the time.
- [Narrator] Carol is
on a mother's mission.
- I went to Milwaukee Journal.
I said can you put
Carrie's picture in there
saying that she's been missing?
(somber music)
- [Narrator]
Desperate for answers,
she calls on Heaven
itself for help.
- I prayed to God to find her.
And I'm glad I had
my faith in Jesus,
'cause if I didn't I think I
would've been in the nuthouse.
- We couldn't give
her an answer.
As a parent myself,
I couldn't imagine
what Carol was going through.
- [Narrator] The lack of
answers is unbearable.
Then suddenly, there
are sightings of Carrie.
- Rumors started saying that
they saw her in California
and they saw her in
other neighborhoods
and that made us have
hope and just thought
she was too afraid to
go home and was scared
because she got suspended.
- There were calls
like I think I
might've seen her in a car.
I think I might've seen
her on this corner.
She could have easily
met up with an older man
who could have took
her to another state
or to another area of town.
The police were dispatched.
Carrie was just never found.
- [Narrator] Then weeks
into the investigation,
like a bolt from the blue,
Carol is sure she
sees her daughter
wandering down the street.
(intense music)
- I see Carrie, and
I was kinda shocked.
Happy, and I yelled her name.
- Carrie!
- And all the sudden she ran.
(intense music)
- I've heard about people
coming back to the
scene of the crime.
He began to freak out,
he ran inside the house
and started to throw up.
- It's just out of a nightmare.
- Right away I thought
this was gonna be it.
We're gonna find out now.
(eerie music)
several agonizing
weeks searching for her
13 year old missing
daughter, Carrie
when she suddenly
thinks she sees Carrie
in her South Milwaukee
neighborhood.
Her broken heart skips a beat.
(intense music)
- Carrie!
- She ran away from me,
and why would she run away
unless she was afraid.
Then I was crying
when I went home,
'cause I told everybody
I think I saw Carrie
and she ran away from me.
(emotional music)
- [Narrator] Were Carol's
eyes deceiving her?
- The police did follow
up on several sightings
of Carrie in the neighborhood,
and a chunk of all those
sightings turned out
to either be not
Carrie or somebody else
that looked just like Carrie.
- In the beginning, when
Carrie went missing,
the hopes were very
high finding her,
but leads, they dry up.
It's frustrating.
(emotional music)
- [Narrator] Seasons
change, and a year passes.
Without any leads, investigators
have nothing to go on,
and Carrie's case
gets tucked in a shelf
with dozens of others.
- So the case now has gone cold,
and you'd like to give the
family positive information
and new leads.
However, we didn't
have anything.
- [Narrator] The
world keeps turning,
but Carol is
paralyzed with fear.
- I had a feeling
that she was dead,
but I didn't want
to think of it.
- I missed Carrie a lot, and
just never having her around,
there was a void.
I really missed her.
- Just awful not knowing.
It was just loneliness
without her.
That's my firstborn.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] For this lost
mom, time has stopped.
18 months pass
with no new leads,
and just when the case
is close to going cold,
a call comes in that
changes everything.
- On September 2nd,
1983, we got a call
from the Mandt house.
A contractor who had
removed a back porch.
When he started to dig,
the shovel hit something
hard like a rock,
but he noticed human
hair on the shovel.
(intense music)
There was a body
underneath the porch.
(ominous music)
(sirens wail)
- [Narrator] The
commotion later that night
calls Carol Tousignant
across the street
to the home of the Mandt family.
- I said oh my god.
I asked Carrie's
friend, Robin Mandt.
What was she wearing?
Robin said she was
wearing a winter coat.
When Carrie went missing,
that's what she was wearing,
and I said that's Carrie.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] Could it really be?
Carol frantically
tries to get closer.
- And then the officer
says, what are you doing?
And then Robin says well,
her daughter's been
missing for 171/2 months.
She thinks that's her daughter.
(somber music)
The officer said why
don't you go home
and we will
talk to you later?
- [Narrator] Her stomach in
knots and her heart in pieces,
Carol stumbles home.
- I prayed to God, I
wanted Carrie to be alive.
I really want her to be alive.
(somber music)
- The body was recovered
in a shallow grave.
The grave was about
five inches deep.
It was partially decomposed.
It was in a mummification state.
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] The
body is transported
to the coroner's office.
(somber music)
As word spreads quickly
about the gruesome discovery.
- This is a tight knit
little neighborhood.
Homes right alongside each
other, so the fact that
someone's body was found
buried in the backyard
just is shocking and
unbelievable to them.
The reporters are asking people
what they think is going on,
and that's when they
started learning
about this kind of
immediate speculation
that it was Carrie's
body that was found.
- There was an ice cream
place down by our house,
and there was a paper
sitting on the counter,
and my mom was
reading the story.
When she read the outfit
that the person was found in,
I said Mom, that's Carrie.
(emotional music)
Yeah I mean, 'cause we
have that same outfit.
(emotional music)
- [Narrator] After
four excruciating days,
Carol receives word
from detectives
that no parent should
ever have to hear.
Carrie's body has been
identified by dental records.
(eerie music)
- They took me to the morgue.
Everything was there.
Her shoes,
her pants.
And I picked up her jacket,
and there was Carrie's jacket,
and that really stunk.
It was sad to see
her stuff there.
You know for sure
that was your daughter
that was dead, you know?
It was just like,
a relief that we found her
and we don't have to worry
about looking for her anymore,
and that she's resting,
she's in God's hands.
It was just
heartbreaking.
- [Narrator] Carol can't fathom
who would kill her little girl.
(ominous music)
- An autopsy was
conducted on Carrie.
The C1 vertebrae was
partially fractured.
They considered that injury
almost like a whiplash injury.
There was also a fracture to
the left side of her skull,
and they determined that to
be either accidental by fall,
or it could be done
purposefully or a homicide.
- [Narrator] One
thing is certain.
Somebody buried Carrie's
body in that backyard.
- One of the things
that was disturbing
was just this pretty
young girl was killed
and simply disposed,
buried in this backyard,
but who did it?
- I cried and
I couldn't believe it,
and the shocking part
was it was the home
across the street from
her house the whole time.
(eerie music)
- The medical examiner did
not rule this case a homicide.
They ruled it as undetermined.
What we thought right
away when she was found
was because of the
nature of the wounds,
and also somebody
buried that body,
whether it was an
accidental fall
or if it was some type of
homicide investigation.
- [Narrator] The
crime is unsettling,
and detectives want
justice for Carrie Jopek
and her family.
They begin their investigation
at the very place
Carrie was last seen,
and where her body was buried.
The home of the Mandt family.
- We knew the
Mandts pretty well.
Carrie and Robin
were good friends.
- There was also an older
brother named John Mandt.
He was a few years older
than both Carrie and Robin.
Through the
investigation we learned
that John Mandt was kind of
like the neighborhood
troublemaker.
There was always something
negative going on
with him, and just also
got into some petty thefts
and was always in
trouble with the law.
- [Narrator] The day
Carrie disappeared,
she was seen at a party
at Robin and John's house.
- The party consisted
of high school kids
and kids that were just
out of high school.
- Almost like an
invite for teenagers
that wanted to skip school
to come to John Mandt's house.
- There was talk of drinking.
Also talk of
marijuana being used.
(ominous music)
Because John Mandt was
the person pointed out
in the neighborhood
as the troublemaker,
now that the body was
found at the Mandt house,
everybody in the neighborhood
believed that John
Mandt was involved.
(ominous music)
- [Narrator] There's
another provocative detail
that makes John Mandt
look suspicious.
- When the contractor
discovered the remains,
he was very shocked.
He looked over his
shoulder and saw John Mandt
standing behind him, and that
even made him more shocked.
John's reaction
right at that moment
was he began to freak out.
He ran inside the house,
and started to throw up.
- [Narrator] Is John sick
with sadness and shock,
or is it something
else far more sinister?
- There's a lot of suspicions.
There were several
different factors
that made John a suspect.
(intense music)
(eerie music)
- [Narrator] After
missing for 18 months,
Carrie Jopek has been
found savagely buried
in the backyard across the
street from her own home.
Now, investigators are eyeing
her teenage
neighbor, John Mandt.
(intense music)
- He was very shooken up.
He started throwing
up all over the house.
In fact he was so ill that
when the police had come,
he wasn't even
interviewed that day
regarding the body
in the backyard.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] Just days
into their investigation,
detectives dig into
their newest lead
and uncover some potentially
damning information.
- We have learned
through the investigation
that John Mandt had come
on to Carrie in the past,
and made some remarks to
Carrie that he liked her.
- One time Carrie
was at Robin's house,
and she said that Johnny was
trying to fool around with her,
going up and down her legs.
I was just afraid that he
would hurt her, you know?
- When you're talking
about a 13 year old girl
and an 18 year old
or 19 year old man,
there's a lot of suspicions.
- I was suspicious of him,
because he was trying to
get smart with my daughter.
(eerie music)
- Just a few days after
the body was found,
we brought John
down to the station
and we interviewed John
regarding the death of Carrie.
John's demeanor was pretty calm.
He stated that he knew of
Carrie from the neighborhood,
and that Carrie was
friends with his sister,
and that he had nothing to do
with her disappearance or death.
Regarding the party at
the Mandt residence,
he denied knowing that
there was a party.
So there were several
different factors
that made John a suspect.
- [Narrator] If John's
conscience is clean,
why did he get sick after
Carrie's body was discovered?
- John stated that finding
a body in his backyard
is what made him
physically ill and shocked.
When John was asked how the
body was buried in his backyard,
John stated he had no clue.
Once John was pushed
a little bit harder,
he requested a
lawyer and we had to
stop the interview at that time.
That was the end.
Deep down, we had suspicion
that John was involved,
but we really had no
evidence of anything else
that we could prove
that John was involved.
- He claimed to
not know anything,
and he walked free.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] A few days
later, Carol is finally able
to lay her precious
girl to rest.
- The funeral was
mixed emotions.
Sad, and happy
that she was found
and she's in a
final resting place,
and she's in God's hands.
- Carrie was just a
wonderful, caring person.
Always looking out for
everybody else, and...
Sorry.
- [Narrator] Carrie was
born with a feisty spirit.
- Yeah she was a spitfire.
She was.
Since she was a little girl,
she wanted to do
things on her own.
She was very independent.
- [Narrator] She was as sweet
as she was strong willed.
- Carrie was so much fun.
Very outgoing,
bubbly, and smart.
She loved to sing.
She'd be so happy.
She was also very caring.
- She loved animals.
She wanted to be a veterinarian,
and we had a lotta
dogs, lotta cats.
She could have done
anything she wanted to.
- [Narrator] Carol can still
hear Carrie's sweet voice.
- [Carol] She always
said goodnight Mom,
see you tomorrow, I love you.
(emotional music)
At her funeral she had a
lot of friends showing up.
Robin was there,
Margaret was there.
- And we were hanging
all over each other
and just sobbing
all over each other.
- God took her for a reason.
But why, why did
she have to die?
No sense to it.
- [Narrator] In
the emotional haze,
Carol is grateful to
friends like Jose Ferreira
who come offering comfort.
- Jose Ferreira was a kid who
lived just down the street
from the Mandt residence, as
well as Carrie Jopek's house.
- He used to come to
our house to play cards.
He was like a
fixture in our house.
- [Narrator] One night
as Carol and Jose
reminisce about Carrie, Jose
makes a strange confession.
- He told me
Carrie's haunting me.
I was going why
would he say that?
- [Narrator] Is it possible
Jose knows something
about Carrie's death?
- One morning we received
a call from a neighbor,
and this neighbor stated
that he recognized
a boy from the
neighborhood kneeling
where Carrie's remains
were recovered,
and he was acting
very strangely.
Had his hands raised to the sky,
and appeared to be crying.
This boy was Jose Ferreira.
(intense music)
- I've heard about
people coming back to
the scene of the crime,
especially if they're feeling
remorse or guilt over it,
it's a way for them to
connect to the victim.
- Right away I thought
this is gonna be it.
We're gonna find out now.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] Weeks after
the horrifying discovery
of Carrie Jopek's body
found buried in a
neighbor's backyard,
investigators get a troubling
call about Jose Ferreira,
a friend of Carrie's family.
(intense music)
- A neighbor witnessed
Jose crying at the scene
just feet from the grave site.
- Why would he be doing that?
Was he the one or was he
involved with the one?
- There were rumors
and speculation that
someone knew something, whether
it was Jose, whether it was,
he knew of someone else
who knew something.
There was clearly
more to the story.
- Jose was kind of like the
weird guy in the neighborhood.
He's into witchcraft,
he liked to drink a lot.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] Is there
something far more sinister
hiding beneath Jose's exterior?
- Jose Ferreira
did have a record
with the Milwaukee
Police Department.
He had three municipal
warrants for theft.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] Could
Jose be the key
to Carrie's mysterious death?
Detectives waste little
time bringing him in.
- When Jose was brought
in for questioning,
he seemed perfectly
normal and calm.
- He said he actually
went over to the backyard
and he was thinking about Carrie
and he said it bothered him
so much, he began crying.
- He stated that he was
in a depressed mood.
He just broke up
with his girlfriend,
and he did raise
his hands to the sky
and he said why her?
- [Narrator] Jose as it
turns out, may have been
one of the last people
to see Carrie alive.
- We learned that Jose
was at the Mandt residence
with Johnny and some friends
the day that Carrie
went missing.
However, he denied
any involvement in
Carrie Jopek's death.
- [Narrator] Like John
Mandt, Jose insists
he has no idea where Carrie
disappeared to after the party.
And while he's no angel,
there's nothing to
prove he's a killer.
- [Angela] Based on
what he had given us,
there was no
evidence to hold him
regarding this investigation,
so he was let go by the
Milwaukee Police Department.
- Police didn't have
a lot to work off of.
No one was talking, and frankly
it was just a big mystery.
For pretty much every
high profile story,
newsrooms do get a
lot of phone calls.
We did get some calls, but
none of them really panned out.
And a lot of people in the
neighborhood unfortunately
were coming to
terms with the fact
that they might not
ever know what happened.
- Frankly, Carrie Jopek's
death was with us all the time,
that we weren't able to solve,
and it's very
frustrating for us,
but we're always constantly
thinking about other avenues.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] What's
frustrating for investigators
is devastating for those
who loved Carrie most.
The lack of leads or justice
for Carrie is heartbreaking.
- I'm there but she wasn't,
and part of me was gone.
She was my life.
And I lost her.
- I always regretted
not leaving with her
when she got suspended,
because we would have never
went to Robin's house.
I just didn't really think
I needed to at the time.
And that's what kills me.
(emotional music)
Nobody would've known
the future, what
would have happened,
or there's no way, so I
keep trying to tell myself
it's not my fault,
it's not my fault,
but it's the
biggest regret ever.
Was not leaving with her.
(emotional music)
- I didn't go get her,
I didn't pick her up.
But I figured that would
be kinda embarrassing
for me to go over there
and take her by the hand,
and drag her home.
Look what you did now!
You're in trouble.
Carrie really would've
been embarrassed
if I would've done that to her.
(emotional music)
- [Narrator] Carrie's
family and friends
are never free of their guilt.
As time marches on,
they long for answers.
- I was just so tired and upset.
Came home and started crying.
Who did it?
Why?
Why did they do it?
- When you don't know something,
when it's unsolved
for so long that's,
that kind of eats at you.
To not know what happened to
one of my best friends is,
that was hard all my life.
- Carrie's case
became a cold case.
As a detective, I
think it hits home
because we have
children of our own,
and we know that they
can be innocent victims.
It's hard 'cause we just
didn't have anything.
- [Narrator] Six years
later, the silence
surrounding Carrie's case
is suddenly shattered
when a new investigator
gets a most unexpected call.
- We got a big
break in the case.
Dodge Correctional Institute
called the Milwaukee
Police Department
stating that they had an inmate
that wanted to
talk to the police,
and had information regarding
Carrie Jopek's death.
(intense music)
- Any time a cold
case breaks open,
there's a sense of urgency,
especially for a
high profile case
that so many people care about,
and when there's suddenly
this unexpected announcement
it was a really big deal.
There was much
more to the story,
and the truth would come out
and there'd be
justice and closure.
(intense music)
(eerie music)
- [Narrator] Six years after
someone so grossly disposed
of 13 year old Carrie Jopek
in a neighbor's backyard,
a prison inmate comes forward
with an explosive allegation
about her mysterious death.
- So we got this call from
the Dodge Correction Institute
that Thomas Luker was an inmate,
and he wanted to talk to the
Milwaukee Police Department.
He stated he was the
ex-boyfriend of Robin Mandt,
which was John Mandt's sister,
and they had been dating
from 1983 to 1986.
And during this time,
Robin had told him
that John Mandt
had killed Carrie.
Mr. Luker stated
that she was left
in the basement for
two to three days.
And eventually her
body was buried.
(somber music)
Shortly after the
interview with Mr. Luker,
Robin was then interviewed
and she stated that
she did date Mr. Luker,
and that they did
have a conversation
about Carrie Jopek's death.
However, it was regarding
Carrie's body being found.
She never told him
about any information
that he stated to us.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] So why
would Thomas Luker
concoct such a damning story?
- She stated that he
twisted her words,
and that he was basically
trying to get back at her
for breaking up with him.
And that she did
not have any idea
how Carrie was killed,
and did not believe
that her brother had anything
to do with Carrie's death.
- [Narrator] Luker's
story, though compelling,
is not enough to
arrest John Mandt.
- After Robin stated
her side of the story,
there was no information
that we found
to be credible with
Luker's theory.
We had no evidence
to back that up.
Once again, the case went cold.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] It's another
dead end for investigators,
and more heartbreak for
Carrie's family and friends.
- I'm thinking why does
nobody know nothing?
How is this so hidden?
What are these people doing?
Are they looking, are
they searching still?
- She can't rest in peace
until we know who did it to her.
- To lose a child like that,
it had to be hard for Carol.
I can't even speak for
her, but me as a mom
I would just dig
and dig and dig,
like I would never let it go.
- It's difficult, but you still
continue to work on the case
and you want to be able to
come and tell that family
that you solved the case.
- So you had people who
kind of just accepted
that this was gonna
be a cold case,
but then there were those
that held onto hope.
Carrie's family and friends
felt that someday, somehow,
the truth would come out.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] The next 25 years
pass like a horrible dream
for Carrie's loved ones.
Then, early one Sunday morning,
local television producer
Will Myers gets a call
that blows the case wide open.
- I was filling in on
the overnight shift
when the phone rang.
The man on the other
end of the line said,
I want to confess to a murder.
(intense music)
And that caught my
attention right away.
We're used to getting a lot
of calls from the public.
Many people have
mental health issues
or just are looking
for attention,
but right away I knew
something more serious
was going on here.
He started by offering
a little bit of details
about his personal life,
and some time he spent in jail,
but eventually he finally
started talking about
what happened, and I began
to take him seriously.
He said in 1982, he
was with Carrie Jopek
and he buried her under
the porch in the backyard.
(intense music)
He told me that
since it happened,
Carrie has been haunting him.
It's been on his conscience
ever since he was a teenager.
(intense music)
As soon as I hung up the phone,
I called the manager
who was in charge
to explain what
had just happened,
and he told me to write a
summary of what was going on,
send it to him, and he
would call the police.
We later learned
that at the same time
that we were calling the police
to report this phone call,
they were also
hearing from his wife,
and from a crisis hotline
who he had apparently also
called around the same time.
- During that time,
we were advised of
a person from Channel 12 staff
had received a call
from a person regarding
what had happened to
Carrie Jopek in 1982,
and we learned that he knew
Carrie from the neighborhood.
(intense music)
That person was Jose Ferreira.
(intense music)
- [Narrator] 25 years
later, Jose Ferreira insists
he's the man behind the
murder of Carrie Jopek.
(intense music)
- We asked him if he would
voluntarily come down
to the police
administration building
so we can conduct an
interview with him.
- [Narrator] To their
shock, Jose agrees.
But will he confess
to authorities
what he's already
confessed to others?
(ominous music)
- Jose's demeanor was
very polite, cooperative,
but it was very obvious
that this incident
was bothering him.
What he described was he went
over to his friend's house,
and there were a bunch of kids
that had skipped out
of school that day,
and they were drinking
alcohol and smoking marijuana.
Said he walked into the kitchen,
and noticed Carrie
was next to a doorway
that led down into the basement.
(ominous music)
- He told me that he
didn't have a cigarette,
but he offered Carrie some
marijuana, which she accepted.
- He knew that the kids
all used the basement
as their make out
spot, and Jose believed
that's what he and
Carrie were gonna do.
(intense music)
- He said as he did
this, Carrie told him,
maybe this wasn't a good idea.
- [Narrator] The horror that
plays out next is unfathomable.
- I was very shocked
just to know,
know what happened.
(intense music)
(eerie music)killing
of Carrie Jopek, family
friend Jose Ferreira
has stunned everyone
by confessing to her
atrocious murder.
(intense music)
- He said as he did
this, Carrie told him
maybe this wasn't a good idea.
(suspenseful music)
- And as he said this, he
pushed her down the stairs.
(intense music)
(somber music)
(ominous music)
He felt that she'd
been knocked out
when her head hit the floor.
- [Narrator] Jose
eventually realizes
Carrie isn't knocked out.
She's dead.
(intense music)
- He said her head turned all
the way around, the wrong way.
And he said at this point,
he knew her neck was broken,
she was dead, and
this was very serious.
- [James] He
described panicking,
and the idea came into his mind
that he would bury
her in the backyard.
(intense music)
- [James] Then what?
- [Narrator] It took 33
years, but Jose Ferreira
is finally charged with
second degree murder.
- Jose seemed very remorseful.
After the interview was
done, he actually hugged me
because he felt so good to
finally get this off his chest.
It had been bothering
him for so long.
- [Narrator] After all
these years, investigators
can't fathom how Jose pulled off
this atrocious crime on his own.
- We initially thought
that both John Mandt
and Jose were involved in this,
but there was nothing
that we could prove
that John Mandt was involved.
All right, come on.
- I don't think a
parent that has a child
that dies as a result of a
homicide ever have closure,
until they know exactly what
happened to their child.
I felt good that we were
going to, after 33 years,
give this family some closure.
- I was shocked, 'cause he was
our friend all these years,
and all the sudden
out of the blue
I killed Carrie, I did it.
And then burying her.
I mean, like you'd
do to an animal!
You kill an animal
and then you bury it.
She was no animal.
She's a human being.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] After
so many painful years
waiting for justice, Jose
Ferreira's trial date
is set for January 2017.
- The day that Jose Ferreira's
trial was set to begin,
he ultimately took a plea.
Jose Ferreira was sentenced
to seven years in prison.
Some may feel that seven
years was not enough
for what happened with Carrie.
However, we lacked evidence,
and taking it to
trial was a chance
that he could be
found acquitted,
and we would ultimately end up
with no prison time
for Jose Ferreira.
(somber music)
- [Narrator] Carrie's mom finds
solace in Jose's sentence,
and remarkably
some common ground
with her daughter's killer.
- I felt sorry for him in a way.
I was hurting and so was he.
I can't hate him.
We were happy to see
he took a plea deal.
Sure it was only seven years,
but it's better than nothing.
- A lot of families that
lived in that neighborhood
when Carrie went missing and
then was later found dead
still live in that neighborhood.
It was horrific, it
impacted a lot of people,
and that's just
never gonna go away.
- [Narrator] Just like the
sweet memories of Carrie Jopek,
and the hurt of knowing
all that was lost.
- I think Carrie
would be an artist.
That she'd be singing with me,
and she would have been a
wonderful, caring person
'cause that's what she was.
- She was a good
kid, smart, talented.
She could have had a
lot of opportunities,
and she did want to
be a veterinarian.
She loved animals.
And now she can't even be
one of them to help them out.
(somber music)
But at least she can rest.
- [Narrator] For
more information